Dolphin Tower drawing buyers

Wednesday

Jan 23, 2013 at 12:41 PM

Progress on renovation, plus low prices -- but big caveats, too

By MICHAEL POLLICK

News of a timetable for repairs at Dolphin Tower and the chance to move back in to the condominiums has sparked buying there. It also has created hope in residents, who will have been away from their homes for nearly four years when fixes are supposed to be completed.

But at least one city official familiar with the derelict 15-story tower believes repairs could take significantly longer.

Long-awaited repairs at the condominium -- now slated to cost $12 million -- are scheduled to begin as early as March.

Charlotte Ryan, president of Dolphin Tower's homeowners' association, told city officials this week at a public meeting that her board hopes residents can re-occupy the empty tower in May 2014.

"Everybody is real excited about going forward," said Marvin Kaplan, a board member whose investment group owns six of Dolphin Tower's 117 units.

The 15-story high-rise has been empty since July 2010, after a key concrete support slab below the fourth floor cracked, walls buckled and concrete columns were found to be severely corroded.

Repairs initially thought to cost less than $1 million and take a few months have mushroomed -- and at least one expert contends a 14-month repair schedule also might be too ambitious.

"I am figuring more like eighteen (months)," said Glenn Bliss, a city engineering official who has been working closely with Dolphin representatives Karins Engineering, Structural Preservation Systems Inc. and The Bakr Group.

"You never know what you're going to find," Bliss said. "Although that building has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb, you never know."

Dolphin Tower has applied for an interior demolition permit, now being processed by City Hall, which would allow workers to rip out drywall and in some cases parts of kitchens and bathrooms

A structural permit application from Bakr has not yet been received by the city, Bliss said.

More significantly for the repairs, the cracked fourth-floor slab, which holds up all of the tower's residences, is being held up by hundreds of building jacks. That two-foot thick slab will have to be jack-hammered and removed, Bliss said.

"Before they even start that process," said Bliss, "they will have to have a truss system built in there to support the upper floors, and that will be inspected and gone over. Once that is taken care of, then they can jack-hammer out the floor."

Additional repairs

In addition to the fourth floor, workers will have to shore up exterior walls and columns, which engineers discovered lacked enough side-to-side stability to withstand hurricane-strength winds.

Further, all residential floors above the fourth will require strengthening.

Still, Dolphin Tower representatives contend the work can be completed for the estimated $12 million. The cost had spiralled to $18 million at one point.

"The $11.9 million is the hard-core estimate right now," said Hytham Bakr, whose Bakr Group is assisting the redevelopment. The tower has set aside an industry standard contingency fund of $1.2 million, or 10 percent of the projected costs.

Kaplan says the tower owners have the money they need.

"There are further assessments coming, but we are right on target," he said. "We built in enough for reserves, in case of problems."

Repair assessments, now estimated at $80,000 to $90,000 on typical units, together with ongoing condo dues and special assessments since July 2010 have forced many of the building's previous owners to sell their units -- some at a fraction of the cost they paid or that the units were worth.

A view to a sale

Now, though, many potential buyers have firmed up their interest in owning a Dolphin Tower unit -- despite the continued uncertainty over construction timelines and final costs.

Sandra Gardner, a Coldwell Banker Real Estate agent, said interest has sparked with news of the repairs.

"Buyers are more comfortable now because they see we have a time when we are going to start construction," Gardner said. "They are not going to tear the building down. Where a year ago, that may have been more of a risk."

Sarasota Realtor Larry Brzostek, of Re/Max Alliance, had two listings by one family for about a year at about $79,000 each. Those same two units are now on the market for $34,000 and $47,000, respectively.

There are roughly 10 units for sale now, Realtors say, including a penthouse for $35,000.

"To find a nice downtown condo with a water view, it is hard to get them for $350,000," Gardner said.

But Gardner is warning potential buyers that their total cost -- with known assessments and condo fees -- will be around $150,000. Condo dues are roughly $5,000 a year.

"It is not for everybody," Gardner said. "It has to be cash. But if you can sit on it, whether you are going to use it or rent it, you are going to get your profit in 20 months."